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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

These days Harry Nilsson might be best known as the guy John Lennon was palling around with during his infamous Lost Weekend of drugs, drunkenness and lunacy. One listen toPandemonium Shadow Show (the album that first caught the Beatles’ attention), the classic Nilsson Schmilsson or A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night (Harry was recording 40’s standards before it became fashionable among the rock and roll set: his version of “Over The Rainbow” is right up there with Judy Garland’s) makes it clear, though, why Nillson was a major force in popular music back in the 70’s: he was a superb songwriter—with a gift for the warped and whimsical that mirrored his friend Lennon's—and impeccable singer. His vocal range was astonishing—and he had the emotional gravitas to match. Nilsson's best known song is probably his cover of Badfinger’s “Without You”: a majestic recording—produced by Richard Perry—filled with pain, loss and a healthy dose of romantic melodrama.

The other day I came across a YouTube treasure, Nilsson’s original demo for “Without You”: just Harry, alone at the piano, singing his heart out. However great the finished record was, this version—complete with the occasional missed note and vocal strain—blows it away. It’s so raw, so honest, so achingly sincere that, like a musical arrow, it pierced my heart and hit my soul, dead-center. Listen to it and see if you don't agree.

Thanks for pointing that out, David. Here's the funny part about this "classic moment": I swear that Keith came up with "Bwah-ha-ha" and he swears that I did. So I guess we'll have to share the credit (or the blame).

What I suspect happened was this: Keith had that "Bwah-ha-ha" laugh in his plot as a throwaway, I became enamored of it and, doing what I do best, beat it into the ground for the next five years!

So true, David. It's not like you sit down and think, "Hmmm...if I put the words 'bwah-ha-ha' in here, people will be quoting it for years to come!" And one punch? At the time, I thought it was just another throwaway. (And I give all the credit for that one to Keith.)

I admit that I've never been well versed in Nilsson's material, but I've heard "Without You" a million or so times, and I could never get into it. I think to me it felt too slick, too polished, and the sentiment never quite matched the sound. This demo version is far, far superior. The sentiment comes through more clearly, and it both sounds and feels timeless. Thanks for sharing!-r-

As much as I like the amped-up, released version of "Without You," there's a lot to be said for music that's been stripped-down to bare essentials. That's one of the reason I love John Lennon. At his best, he would get right to the emotional core -- ugly or beautiful, as the case may be -- and scream it from the center of his soul.

Bob Dylan was originally supposed to write a song for the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack, but the intended song ("Lay Lady Lay") was not finished in time, so they went with Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin'", which fit the movie much better, and left LLL to a life of its own as one of Bob's biggest hits. Win/win!

And here's another twist in the tale: Nilsson wrote a very good song for Midnight Cowboy called "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City." The producers rejected it and he ended up singing "Everybody's Talkin'" -- which he didn't write!

I heartily recommend that fans of "Everybody's Talkin'" check out the work of Fred Neil, who did write it -- just wonderful stuff. "The Many Sides of Fred Neil" is a great starting point. What a voice!

You know, I hadn't thought about Harry Nilsson in years, but there was a time when he was nearly ubiquitous on the radio, wasn't he? A pity he's more often remembered for his antics than for his body work, which as you say is quite underrated.

Yes, Neil seems to be one of those artists better known by his peers than by the public at large. A couple of Jefferson Airplane songs are partial tributes to him -- "The Ballad of You & Me & Pooneil," for instance -- they covered one his songs -- "The Other Side of This Life" -- and Crosby, Stills & Nash originally wanted to call themselves Sons Of Neil. His song "The Dolphins" is just gorgeous.

And thank you in return for news of the forthcoming Nilsson DVD!

Let me add how impressed I am with "Booster Gold" these days. I wasn't sure the old JLI tone could be recaptured, and even less sure if it should be ... but you & Keith have not only recaptured the old magic, but you've incorporated it beautifully with Booster's subsequent character growth over the years. So we're getting the best of both worlds! :)

Thanks for the kind words re: BOOSTER, Tim. Very glad to hear you think we've hit the right balance between JLI goofiness and Booster's (quasi) maturity. Giffen and I are having a great time with the book; but the truth is I have a great time working with Keith on all our projects. The guy's a wonderful collaborator.

Hi there- Also loving the Booster-ific doings. I've just finished reading a selection of JLI issues (Grey Man, Kooey Kooey Kooey, JL Quarterly #1 and the final issue). I was particularly impressed with JLQ, which was almost like a graphic novel in its scope. The Corporation story has even more relevance now. Might be worth revisiting, considering that Booster was the leader of that band. The other issues were terrific fun and reminders of how awesomely talented Maguire and Hughes were and are. Must've been incredible seeing what they did with your words (I think you dialogued from Keith's thumbnails before the pencils?).

A good part of the time I dialogued from Keith's thumbnails, Jeff, but there were many times I dialogued from the pencils. Same thing with BOOSTER. First few issues, I was working off Keith's plot/layouts, now I'm writing from Chris's pencils.

Yes, Maguire and Hughes were -- and are -- top of the heap. Amazing talents.

I have to confess that I remember almost nothing re: the Corporation. I'll have to go back and re-read those issues.